It is getting to be a little much, all The Da Vinci Code rip-offs, wanna-be’s and hangers on. Now we have The Diet Code, an eating plan based upon the secrets of Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio mentioned in that mongo-selling novel. Who woulda thunk?

“Eat bread, drink wine, lose weight,” this book proclaims, using a specific formula for weight loss based upon phi, the Golden Ratio present in nature, science and the human body. Author Stephen Lanzalotta tells us that by measuring our food in the same proportions as the Golden Ratio, we can find the balance and harmony with nutrition that our bodies have been missing for a long, long time.

Basically, the diet is nothing more than a tweaked version of the Mediterranean diet we hear so much about, the diet proposed in other books such as The Sonoma Diet, South Beach Diet and others flooding the market. Lanzalotta, a master baker and craftsman, has been using his own version of the diet, though, in his bakery for years, seeing good results not just for himself, but also for many of his repeat visitors who adore his breads. Lanzalotta spices up the usual diets by adding tons of his own insight into food, bread making and the secrets to optimal nutrition that have been around since the time of Da Vinci, but were lost to our modern fast-food culture.

The diet itself is pretty basic, although figuring out the proportions will drive some folks crazy. The recipes are deeee-licious-looking. And the author’s background is fascinating as he describes his own “coming of age” of sorts as a bread maker, baker and craftsman using the Golden Ratio to create magic.

But what will fascinate readers the most is the history of the Golden Ratio and the information that the author packs into the book in between diet and exercise advice. In fact, the diet almost becomes secondary in importance to the stuff about the Golden Ration. And that’s okay, because it’s really fun to read.

Even if you never follow the diet itself. And many of you may want to. Because you can eat BREAD!